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Futurama has aged suprisingly well, given how many generational cultural references there are.
Pretty much any Politics or Geopolitics show based on the present has aged poorly, because the political situation worldwide has shifted so dramatically in the past decade. (Although this doesn’t count for fantasy and local Politics, Parks and Rec for example has aged fine).
Futurama has aged quite well, until you get to the episode where bender changes gender to win in the women's robot Olympics.
It's such a bizarre experience because you almost can't view it through the lense of that era given how the topic has exploded, and even trying it's still really hard to tell if it's genuinely making fun of women, or making fun of the perception of women being weak.
At least when South Park did it with the special Olympics episode Cartman gets stomped by the actual athletes.
Yeah. “Bend Her” did not age well. But with a show that’s got 10 seasons you’ve got to assume one or two episodes won’t age well, even if the show does in general.
For sure. I don't begrudge the series as a whole, honestly the episode is fascinating because it feels impenetrable to me now.
I recently rewatched The Golden Girls and it is top tier.
Shit like Friends and Seinfield don’t hold up imo. But I hate cringe and punching down.
Agreed. Though I actually found Seinfeld somewhat rewatchable until Jerry supported the genocide. (If only because it’s kind of fun to get a glimpse of what life was caricatured as for upper middle class new yorkers 35 years ago).
FRIENDS, is just meh. Like I think it would have been far more fun watching it when everyone was into it and it was the cultural thing.
But now it’s just an outdated sitcom that drags on for wayyy too long and has lowkey bigoted undertones.
Some parts of MASH hold up pretty well. Some parts do not, but I think they’re the minority.
Battlestar Galactica (new) - just watched this the first time through with my partner, second time for me. It’s doing really well.
Sitcoms generally age poorly, but they weren’t too good in the first place.
Honestly, I'd agree that sitcoms on the whole tend to age poorly, but there are some that have stood the test of time. Like another commenter said, Golden Girls still slaps, but the one that I think has shockingly aged the best is The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Despite being over 50 years old, I was laughing so hard at basically every episode, and it only gets better as it goes on.
It's relatively progressive politics for its time have also ensured that it stays relevant, like the episode where Phyllis finds out her brother is gay and she's just relieved that he's not dating Rhoda. That aired in like... 1972 or 1973. That kind of casual acceptance could almost be considered radical for the time, and the women's rights issues it occasionally brings up are still relevant.
But I think the biggest reason it's aged so well is that it's so character focused. It never gets overtly political like Maude, pop culture references are relatively uncommon, and the character writing is so strong to the point that even the supporting characters get good development.
I find FRIENDS to be unwatchable nowdays. I do understand that it was made for a different time and a different audience, but seen from todays perspective it's absolutely horrible.
I would say that Seinfield fits the same category as FREINDS, but not everyone will share my opinion.
Knowing that Jerry was dating a minor puts me off the show.
Seinfeld is holding up okay. Still funny, if you can put yourself in the context of the 90s. Most comedies from them still hold up if you can do that. Forgiving them for being ignorant and knowing it would never fly today.
If you can't, we'll, then don't watch i guess
For me, Blake's 7 sits in both camps.
The warnings about authoritarian reigimes feel more relevant than ever. And the depictions of troubled heroes with deep flaws that get worse, rather than better, was so ahead of its time.
I have a nostalgic fondness for the original effects, but yeah, the abysmal budget does show its seams so much of the time. I'm pleased with the CG of the blu-ray remaster for the most part. I'm not a snob who gets uppity about the digital realm after all.
The writing is fantastic. With film production being more of an investment back then I feel they really put in more effort to the quality of what was produced.
Best: Star Trek TOS
Worst: Star Trek TOS
(classic Dr. Who is very similar lol)
Good: the first few seasons of Roseanne.
Bad: he-man cartoons.